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On 30/04/2024 at 06:45, CVByrne said:

You just need to increase the volume (ie the amount of running you do)

Max distance you need to run in prep is around 30 or 32k. It depends on how fast you can run. The key to it is building aerobic capacity, which is just lots of easy running, the speed where you can hold a conversation or if you've a watch hear rate zone 2.

Getting up to two 45 mins easy runs and a long run that progresses to 32k is the main work. The best part of aerobic or easy runs is it's called the fat burning zone as the body breaks down fat into ATP for the body to use as fuel instead of the stored glycogen in the muscles and Liver. So you'll lose weight and get fitter (it basically is a workout for your heart and strengthens it, which is the key to the health benefits of exercise).

The training session I swear by is doing a 18-20 mile run on no food so no breakfast and no gels, its horrendous and invariably ends up a bit of a death march but my god does it make you efficient for glycogen burning. I do this once or twice on a training plan and def helps me.

22 minutes ago, Paddywhack said:

No, this was in Newport, it was lovely and sunny. I’ve got a nice tan haha

No you are right, someone said it was wet (on their Strava) but that was a different race 

Had 5 from my training group, all of them seemed to have had a good race so it looks like a decent course. also super flat, 1/3 of the climbing of say London.

1 hour ago, Paddywhack said:

It wasn’t pretty, but I dragged myself over the finish line today in 4:24. I’m quite happy with that to be honest.

I stayed with the 4:00 pacer until mile 16, but then I started struggling. I bit off more than I could chew.

I’m going to leave it another 6 years before thinking about a marathon I think. They’re horrible!

Superb!! Looked wet.

Had a few club members do it, one of them had a marathon debut and 2nd place - ridiculous!!

So my marathon PTSD didn't last that long, I'm signed up for Abingdon in October

On 22/04/2024 at 18:28, Risso said:

Looking forward to hearing how our VT London marathoners got on.

Yeah okay, my expectations were quite low after the last few weeks, I managed to shuffle to a 3:22 but man where Im not running properly because Im carrying one injury just created problems elsewhere and I basically had 16 miles of pain in my left glute even though my injuries are in the other leg. 

Outside of this I had a great time high-fiving kids and getting involved with the crowd a few times. I have put a cool little video (the whole thing wouldnt upload) of running over tower bridge on my strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11232066980

5 hours ago, Risso said:

Apple Watches or Garmins are pretty decent in terms of heart rate monitoring to be honest, I'd certainly get one as they provide all sorts of good informatio on top of heart rate.. As CV says, just take it easy until you finish C25K. Once you can run 5K without stopping, you can then start trying to run longer distances AND doing interval work at a faster pace. Both of these will get your fitness up no end. Once you have got up to 5K, start looking at park runs, a nationwide (and indeed, worldwide) series of 5K runs on Saturday mornings at 9am. They're great fun, there are loads of them, and the people who do them are all moslty really nice. It's a fantastic community, it really is.

So I have chest strap for bike (bike computer) and have the inbuilt wrist one, for the most part its good although when Im err varying between weights it can be a bit random for a few weeks while I hit the next notch

Im having trouble this week in that mentally and physically Ive finally managed to get myself in a place to get super fit again and start eating to match, but this is not the week to start missing meals

20 hours ago, villan-scott said:

Oh and worth putting this out there too. This is the charity I am running for linked to my sons condition

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Scott-Jack-Charlie

Done!!

Good luck on Sunday, weather is looking okay for us.

1 hour ago, CVByrne said:

Best thing you can do is jog and walk intervals. Jog a minute and then walk, jog a minute then walk. Etc.. 

The body is about adaptations. You should focus on easy exercise and look to increase the volume of amount of easy.

These this myth that to get fit you need to be going hard and max your effort to improve. This is a fallacy. 

I still remember after about 5 or 6 years of basically unhealthy living basically around time I was in Uni and started working after. I decided to get fit and ran out of the house and down the road and around the corner and had to stop and walk back, wheezing and had a metallic taste in my mouth and lunch felt like they were on fire. 

Just build up slowly and the body adapts. Simple as that 

I used to live near Elephant and Castle and there is a massive building in the centre, anyway I remember leaning up against that on a 1k run coughing my lungs up then carrying on, only took a few weeks for that to get much easier.

21 hours ago, Risso said:

Without knowing how old you are and anything about injuries etc, I reckon you probably could, it'd just take an awful lot of hard work and your life might not be able to accommodate that, I know mine wouldn't. My aim is to get down to as close to a 20 minute 5K as I can. A few years ago, I was stuck around 28/29 minutes, but all I did was run 5Ks. Once I started trianing properly and constantly, the times really started coming down.

Totally agree with this, I started at 34 after being a 20 a day smoker, trained for a few months and dragged myself round a 10K in 55 mins, didnt think I could get much faster and mixed it up with cycling and as I got fitter from both, times started to come down. Year on year consistent training has done it, sadly I get injured a lot but can usually drop in a couple of good performances a year, managed a 1:15:30 half last year, ran 2:57 this year despite jogging (and stopping for over 5 mins combined) the last 10 miles. Have a PB of 2:45 but think if I can finally turn up to one of these races fit I might break 2:40. At the height of marathon training Im doing 10 hours a week, 3 in one run and maybe 1.5-2 in another and the rest made up of mileage here and there and a lot of it at easy pace with a couple of hard sessions a week (or races, not both). 

I've just been out on a 13 miler to test my injury, seems okay actually but man have I lost fitness in the last month or so, London at the weekend is gonna be tough even if I shut it down as I just dont have the conditioning. Also starting in a pen (I'm on the front of the blue wave so actually first time I've run out that way, I'm usually on red which has a different route for first 5k) where everyone is planning to run an hour faster than you is kinda embarrassing, I reckon Im gonna have a couple of thousand people pass me.

23 minutes ago, CVByrne said:

My Paris Marathon was a failure. Unfortunately I was ill but thought I was ok. Stomach wasn't good and basically none of the energy gels were being digested. 

Had felt good at halfway and then around 25k knew it was not going well. Went downhill after that. Had to stop and walk 4 times to complete it.

3h28m in the end quite a way off last year 3h18m 

Have decided to look at redemption in October with one of Marathons up north or possibly Dublin if I can find a way to get entry.

I’m looking at Yorkshire after I came off the rails at Tokyo. I have London next week which hopefully if my body is okay (basically been broke since Tokyo) should be a nice day out and I might stop for a beer halfway round.

2 hours ago, villarule123 said:

The Holloway KO was one of the most badass, brave, brutal KOs I've ever seen. Best KO I've seen in the UFC. Incredible. 

Max has been my fav UFC fighter for years, willing to risk everything for the win. I found myself screaming at the tv at the end there.

2 hours ago, Danwichmann said:

I would love to do a major some day. Enjoy the experience! 

They are all amazing, I particularly liked Boston. This is no6/final one 

53 minutes ago, Paddywhack said:

Wow, fair play! I think that makes me feel better actually. You’ve got 9 years on me, so my kids won’t want anything to do with me when I’m 45, it’ll be easier to find time to train.

I already feel a bit of a shit when I turn to my wife every few days and say I’m going for a run, see you in a couple of hours, good luck with the nappies. 

I have a 3 year old but yeah the wife has to take the hit for me training sort of 8-9 hours a week.

For marathon training plan I would highly recommend something around this: Advanced Marathoning https://amzn.eu/d/c2RGFIX - we run an 18 week adapted version of this for the spring marathon runners in our club (getting 30+ turning up to sessions currently). But yes need the fast stuff, staring with LTP sessions and then onto reps (which is where I am at the moment - got 6x1k Thursday night, supposed to be 5k pace but I always attempt to smash them).

21 minutes ago, Paddywhack said:

I find this 75% inspiring, 25% sickening and making me want to throw my garmin in a canal and never run again.

Does me saying Im 45 make this better or worse? 

BUT, I have a friend who didn't think he would ever crack 4 hours looking at attempting sub 3 at Tokyo. Its amazing how quickly the perspective shifts once running 5+ times a week - joining a club (preferably ones with serious runners) makes a huge difference. a few years ago I was aiming for < 1:45 half, ran just over 1:19 yesterday and it was a terrible race for me (had some sort of stomach bug all week).

On 19/01/2024 at 16:50, villa89 said:

Well done to the runners, spring loaded foam with carbon plates. Nike you've done it again.

Technology has always been developed though. I have carbon shoes but my 2:45 Marathon PB was in New Balance racing flats, is it illegitimate because I didn't run in sandals like they did 2000 years ago?

On more of an actual racing note, I have Tokyo in just less than 6 weeks, not quite where I should be fitness-wise (although hope to PB) but will be collecting my Abbot 6 star medal which has been an 8 year project...

I have and had running pals who have done Newport, described as not the prettiest (Industrial Estates - which was I how I described Manchester Marathon) but fast and flat - good luck!! 

How did no Brentford players get a yellow card in that match up. The guy he grabbed smashed straight into Martinez?

Just now, jayEm said:

Absolutely love Emi. Do think him trying to drag the Brentford man off the ground was a big mistake, no need to inflame things that late on.

Yeah bit disappointed really as cost us Kamara (who obvs did himself no favours) for a few games

Wasnt there a link to an academy in Senegal too or did I imagine that?

33 minutes ago, Brumstopdogs said:

 

Kipchoge has been saying for a while that this guy was gonna be the guy to beat him. I’m interested to see what he could do in Berlin as I personally think it’s a faster course (I ran faster in Chicago than Berlin but nothing to do with the course).

When McGinn plays well, Villa play well. Oli gets MOM because of the hatrick but John was unplayable today.

I see Cav maybe back next season, he was still winning sprints and deserves another shot at the TDF record I think.

1 hour ago, pas5898 said:

Tourist 1/2 game a season fan: Spends £150+ in the club shop, buys food or hospitality package, plenty of food and drink. Take's a photo holding his scarf in front of the Holte.

This in reality is me (without the scalf), I live 3 hours away and have a young family with other commitments, so a trip to Villa is half a dozen times a season and at the Everton game I bought myself and son shirts, snacks and a couple of other things, made a proper day out of it.

I actually put us in the 1884 seats but actually would of paid for some of the hospitality options if I had been more aware of them.